Pleated garment



Jam-7, 19.47. A BONQ 2,413,906

PLEATED GARMENT Filed Oct. 19. 1944 Patented Jan. 7, 1947 PLEATED GARMENTV Austin J. Bono, Revere, Mass.,assigno,r, `by mesne l assignments, to John E. R.` Hayes, Melrose,

Mass., as trustee ApplicationfOetober' 19, 1944,` Serial No. 559,402`

4 Claims.

The invention relates to an improvement in pleated garments' in which the pleats are eX tended into the waist portionV of the garment and there gathered and held by a laceA passed through slots or openings in the individual sections of each pleat.

The pleats afford considerable range in size variation at the waist line upon the 1oosening and tightening of the lace. The tightening of the lace causes no disarrangement of the pleats, and unsightly puckering, when the pleats are extended to lie full open at the waist line, or point. of gathering, for at such time the respective sections of each pleat will be spread and consequently lie substantially parallel with the lace. When the pleats are not full open, however, difculty occurs. Not only is it diiiicult, when the lace is tightened,A to maintain a proper folded lay of the pleats at the points of gathering but those portions of the pleats lying between the separate openings in the respective pleat sections will become raised and puckered, and their fold lines will vstand out, presenting an unsightly appearance, which is all the motor aggravated the tighter the lace is drawn.

The object of the present invention is to overcome these difculties, and this by a construction which will maintain the proper folded lay of the pleats at the waist line or point of gathering when the lace is tightened.

The invention can best be seen and understood by reference to the drawing in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a pleated garment embodying the invention with the pleats shown ful1 open.

Fig. 2 is a frontelevation as in Fig. 1 but with the pleats shown partially drawn in and gathered by the lace.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross section illustrating a part of one of the pleats before the uniting of the fore portion thereof; and

Fig. 5 shows the same cross section as in Fig. 4 but after the uniting of the fore portion of the pleat.

Referring to the drawing, I represents the respective pleated portions of the garment. Each pleat consists of sections 2 and 3 with fold line i in the back and fold line 5 in the iront. Sometimes in the garment as made there may appear between its pleated parts certain unpleted panels 21 having between them an intermediate seam line as, for example, the seam line d1 in the back as shown in Fig. 3. The pleats are preferably formed from strips of material stitched together along theirfree edges to form the' fold lines 4 in the back, and each strip is foldedupon itself tovform the fold lines 5 in the front. The front fold'lines 5 are preferably reinforced and made I. permanent by aline of stitches 6 lying just back of the fold line in close proximity to the edge of the fold.

'I is the lace, or laces, which extend through the pleats and by which the pleats are gathered and held. Two laces are preferably employed with'ends fixed respectively to the opposite sides of the garment at the points 'I1 for each lace. From the points of their fastening the laces extend in opposite directions through the pleats and their free ends after the pleats have been gathered are tied for holding the pleats in place. For convenience in reference the laces will be referred to as a lace, inasmuch as the laces may be single or double in so far as the present invention is concerned.

The lace passes through openings 8 and 9 in the respective pleat sections 2, 3 of each pleat. These openings are formed at points inwardly removed from the front fold line 5 of the pleat. Those portions of the pleat sections 1ying between the openings B and 9 therein and the adjacent front fold line 5 of the pleat are brought together as shown in Fig. 5 to form a united edge portion I0 and a substantially unitary opening through which the lace is passed whereby said united edge portion of the pleat will be drawn by the lace to lie substantially dat and extend as a strap across the lace when the lace is tightened. In consequence the form of the pleat will be maintained at all times at the waist line and there will be no unsightly puckering.

The uniting of the edge portions of the pleat to form the united edge portion It! and the unitary opening I2 through which the lace is passed is best obtained by stitches I I uniting the pleat sections of each pleat around the openings 8 and 9 therein when these openings are brought together in proper juxtaposed relation to each other. Thus in place of the separate openings 8 and 9 in the respective pleat sections of each pleat there is formed a single unitary opening or buttonhole I2, for the stitch I I is preferably a buttonhole stitch, and it is through this opening or buttonhole I 2 in the pleat that the lace is passed.

I claim:

1. In a garment having a pleat composed of sections;` with a front fold line and which pleat is gathered and held by a tightening lace passed throughtopenings formed respectively in the respective 4sections of the pleat inwardly removed from its iront fold line, means uniting the edge portions of the pleat lying between said openings therein and the adjacent fold line to form a united edge portion and a substantially unitary opening through which the lace is passed whereby said united edge portion of the pleat will be drawn by the lace to lie substantially flat and extend as a strap across the -laceas the lace is tightened.

2. In a garment having a pleat composed of sections with a front fold line and which pleat is gathered and held by a tightening lace passed through openings formed respectively in the respective sections of the pleat inwardly removed from its front fold line, means uniting said pleat sections when the openings therein are in juxtaposed relation to each other to form a united edge portion and a substantially unitary opening through which the lace. is passed whereby said united edge portion of the pleat will be drawn by the lace to lie substantially at and extend as a strap across the lace as the lace is tightened.

3. In a garment having a pleat composed of sections with a front foldrline and which pleat is gathered and held by a tightening lace passed y 4 through openings located respectively in the respective sections of the pleat inwardly removed from its front fold line, stitches uniting said pleat sections along the sides of said openings when v the openings are brought into juxtaposed relation to each other to form a united edge portion and a substantially unitary opening through which the lace'is passed whereby said united edge portion of the pleat will be drawn by the lace to lie substantially flat and extend as a strap across the lace as the lace is tightened.

4. In a garment having a pleat composed oi sections with a front fold line and which pleat is gathered and held` by a tightening lace passed through openings located respectively in the re spective sections of the pleat inwardly removed from its fold line', stitches extending through said pleat sections around said openings therein when the openings are in juxtaposed relation to each other to form a united edge portion and a unitary opening through which the lace is passed whereby said united edge portion of the pleat will be drawn by the lace to lie substantially flat and extend as a strap across the lace as the lace is tightened.

AUSTIN J. BONO. 

